What Is The Loss Of Innocence In Lullabies For Little Criminal

In the fictional novel Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neil, the protagonist
Baby is a twelve-year-old girl who lived in the ghettos of Montreal. Her young father, Jules, was absent in her life and fell into the hardships of addiction that lead him to treat Baby poorly. As
Baby matured and began to see the world in a darker light, she realized that her crummy apartments were not all she thought they were and neither was her father. She depended on adult figures like Jules and a pimp to take care of her throughout her life. “From the way that people have always talked about your heart being broken, it sort of seemed to be a one-time thing. Mine seemed to break all the time.” In my novel, the loss of innocence in Baby’s life

Her mother passed away when she was young leaving a significant gap in her much-needed parenting. Jules turned to heroine to cope with his grief but became addicted and went from being Baby’s best friend to a complete stranger. He took the use of drugs too far, becoming physically and verbally abusive towards her. Jules eventually caused her to run to the streets where she fell into the arms of Alphonse, a known pimp. Once associated with the pimp she began to, in her own words, “turn tricks”. She did not see much of a problem with her actions due to the fact she felt love and admiration towards Alphonse. Baby gave into him in every way until she had a turning point and decided this lifestyle was no longer for her. This turn of events lead Baby to be free from the pimp but because of her history Baby could be drawn back into the dark side of her once loved home

Baby found Jules clean in a rehabilitation center for men because he wanted to live a better life. He even acted on this by moving Baby in with a cousin who lived outside of the city. By the end of the novel Baby, on paper, had achieved redemption. She was off drugs, Alphonse was dead, she was no longer selling her body and Jules was clean. Although Jules has been clean for short amounts of time previously and fell back or was more violent. Also Baby had never felt a relapse before and may not be able to overcome it. There were many long-term factors to consider when it came to her redemption. In the finally moments of the book all aspects of her life seem to fall into place but it is hard to say if they will stay there for a longer period of